Third Term Non Starter, The Chronicle

This story is told largely through the voices of male politicians in position of leadership within their parties or government. The story conveys the message that politics, in this case discussion on whether the President should impose a Bill to extend his term of office, is an issue that only impacts on men and should be discussed by men.

But the President is elected by and represents both women and men in society and therefore, the issue of extending his term of office is a governance issue which should be analysed through the voices of both women and men.

The voices of women in opposition parties, in Parliament, in civil society and the society in general, should have been included to bring a balance of voices and perspectives to the story. Men outside of the leadership positions also should be interviewed.

The story also should balance the arguments, through the voices of women and men, of those who are against the Bill, as well as those who are in favour of the Open Term Bill. The story, as it is written now, promotes only one side of the argument.

The media often ignores the voices and perspectives of women in news on political issues. As the Gender and Media Baseline Study showed, women are less than 10 percent of the sources on politics in many countries. (Trainer’s tip: Discuss the findings from the GMBS in your country on women as sources on politics. Identify with the trainees reasons for why women are not accessed as sources in political stories)

The image accompanying the story further reinforces the view that politics is for men and only men have the knowledge and authority to speak on the issue.

The headline indicates only one side of the story.

The total packaging of this story illustrates how women’s voices are seldom heard on key national issues. The story reflects a bias towards men in political reporting, but it also illustrates the newspaper’s stance towards the Bill.

Training exercises

Exercise one: Study the article and analyse the following:

1. Who speaks in the story?
    

2. What voices are missing?
    

3. What perspectives should be included in the story?
    

4. What message is conveyed in this story about whose voice is important?
    

1. What message is conveyed in this story about the role of women in politics?
    

2. What approach to the Bill would have brought more balance and diversity of views to the story?
    

3. What message is conveyed by the images?
    

4. Is the headline appropriate? Explain answer.